How to make Holi Colors at home, Homemade holi colors

Holi festival of colors celebrated with great enthusiasm and lot of colors, traditionally Holi was played with natural dyes made from flowers or in some states like Vrindavan people play holi with rose petals and marigold flowers. But today market is flooded with toxic and synthetic holi colors which are not only a health hazard but also, contribute to significant amount of pollution of local water sources. To get rid from this here we are with some ways that help you to make natural herbal colors at home.

How to make dry Holi Colors at home

Yellow color – To make yellow holi color at home, nothing is better than turmeric powder (haldi) which has lots of benefits. Mix one part turmeric powder to two parts of flour or besan. You can mix turmeric powder with maida, rice flour, arrowroot powder or fuller's earth (multani mitti) to get smooth bright yellow color gulal. One more easy and cheap method to obtain yellow color is by drying the rind of the Bael fruit (Aegle marmelos) and grinding it to obtain a yellow powder.

Red color – To make red holi color at home grinds red sandalwood into fine powder and uses it as a natural colour. Red sandalwood can be expensive way to make holi color and difficult to procure, so you may use Herbal Sindoor (kumkum, vermillion) instead. Dry hibiscus, marigold, sunflower, rose petals etc in sunlight, grind them in grinder to form powder, add all purpose flour (Maida) in this powder to  increase the volume and your herbal gulal is ready to play.

Blue color- To make blue holi color at home sundry the Jacaranda flowers (neeli gulmohar/jungle badam) which bloom in summer and grind them in grinder to get beautiful blue color powder. The blue Hibiscus which is found in Kerala can be dried and powdered.

Green color – To make blue holi color at home mehendi (henna powder) is the best choice. Dry Mehendi do not leave any color on skin and if mixed with water then give a bright orange color on skin and hair. Mix equal quantity of all purpose flour and mehendi to get a lovely shade of green. Dry and finely powder the leaves of Gulmohur tree for a green color.  

Black color – To make black holi color at home you can use very traditional method of making natural collyrium or kajal. Take a medium sized steel container and brush it with a little mustard oil. Hold it by keeping oil-side down on top of a lighted candle, after some time you will find black soot collecting in the container this is natural kajal, and can be used for playing holi.

Orange color- To get bright orange color dried and crushed flame of the forest (Tesu) flowers. According to legend Lord Krishna played holi with Tesu flowers only.  

How to make Wet Holi Colors at home

Red or dark pink color – To get bright pink color slice or grate some beetroots. Soak it in 1 liter of water and leave it overnight to get for a wonderful magenta color.  If you are able to find pink Kachnar flowers, then soak them in water overnight or boil them for a bright pink color. A beautiful red flower known as grows in Garhwal hills and in the Kumaon hills which gives a lovely red colour when soaked in water overnight.

Purple color – To make deep purple color dissolve some amount of potassium permanganate in a bucket of water to get deep purple color, which could be used as a harmless chemical dye.

Yellow color- To make beautiful yellow color, boil the flowers of Amaltas (Cassia fistula), Marigold / Gainda (Tagetus erecta), and Yellow Chrysanthemums flowers with sufficient amount of water. Let it cool, strain it and use this bright, fragrant yellow water to play Holi.    

Green color- To make bright green color water boil some neem leaves in water, this water can be use to play safe and healthy Holi. Add a little turmeric to get a new shade. Boil green leafy vegetable such as spinach (paalak), coriander (dhania), fenugreek (methi) or radish (mooli) in water to make green colored water.

Blue color– Crush the berries (fruits) of the Indigo plant and add to water for desired colour strength. In some Indigo species the leaves when boiled in water yield a rich blue. 

Black color – Boil dried fruits of Amla (Indian Gooseberry) in an iron vessel and leave it overnight. Dilute with water and use to play Holi.

So make these safe and healthy holi colors at home and enjoy the holi without the worries of skin allergies and any other health hazard. Do not forget to read our Hair & Skin care Tips for a Safe Holi.